2008 Yamaha R1 on 2040-motos

Moto blog

Jefferies' TT V&M R1 for sale

We got a tip-off about a former David Jefferies TT R1 for sale on eBay. The owner says it's from the 1998 TT but I'm pretty sure it was the one he raced in 1999. Here's a little bit more background about the V&M TT effort in 1999: In 1990 Jack Valentine gave up racing to concentrate on running V&M Racing, and after being sacked by Honda at the end of the 1998 season, the team set about to do some giant killing.

How to solve the mystery of the wildcard replacement

With the two test riders coming forward to act as replacement riders for the injured Rossi and Aoyama, it brought back memories of the days when the grid would be gifted with wildcard riders from the respective countries. The Japanese rounds were always attended by some of the top guys with experience of the 500GP and MotoGP bikes, through racing them in their domestic championships. What resulted was getting to witness the exciting and talented Japanese riders, and bring new riders to the attention of the teams.

Geeky snippets ahead of the Phillip Island MotoGP

Valentino Rossi has finished on the podium eleven times in his twelve visits to Phillip Island across all three GP classes. The only race at Phillip Island that he did not finish in the top three was on his first visit riding a 125cc machine in 1997 when he finished sixth. In 1998 and 1999 he won the 250cc races and since then has had nine podiums in the premier-class including five victories, the last of which was in 2005.